The Kingdom of Kent once dominated England during the Ethelbert period, but with the decline of Æthelbert, the Kingdom of Kent gradually withdrew from the stage of the Seven Kingdoms. In fact, on the island of Britain, only three great powers are eligible to compete: Northumbria in the north, Mercia in the middle, and Wessex in the west.
Judging from the map, the territory of the three is the largest, and the location is also the best, and it is difficult for other countries to compete with them. However, it was his nephew, King Redwald of East Anglia, who took over the staff of Ethelbo's privilege.
Early on, he ruled under the patronage of Æthelbert and was deeply influenced by his uncle, and Redwald became a disciple. After Ethelbert's death, Redwald hoped to achieve his uncle's great fortune and become the supremacy of the south of England.
However, due to his limited strength, he could only wait for his opportunity slowly. Luckily, a prince fled and provided him with an opportunity. There was civil unrest in Northumbria in the north.
This country is special in that it consists of two kingdoms. The Anglo-Saxon military leader Edda established himself king of Benicia in 547. Another Anglo-Saxon leader named Samir led his men to conquer the Britons of Deira and establish the Kingdom of Deira.
The two kingdoms were often at war, and both tried to incorporate each other into their own countries.
King Æthelfrith challenged and succeeded in merging the kingdoms of Benicia and Deira into the Kingdom of Northumbria and expanding into Scotland. However, Mercia was busy at war with the small Central Anglo states, and Edwin was unable to borrow troops and had to flee to East Anglia to seek Redwald's support.
Redwald seized the opportunity and decided to intervene in Northumbria's internal affairs, and he sent troops to aid Edwin back home, successfully defeating Æthelfrith in the battles of Deira and the Mercia border.
With Redwald's support, Edwin regained the throne and became King of Northumbria. He cherished this opportunity and worked hard to govern the country so that order could be kept within the kingdom and no stone should be left behind.
Externally, he did not easily provoke wars, and although he did not fight for hegemony, he was regarded as one of the Seven Kingdoms after Redwald's death.
Although Lord Edwin longed for peace, fate led him to encounter the most formidable enemy of the Seven Kingdoms, Pendamasia, at the wrong time. By this time, Pendamasia had swept through the surrounding small kingdoms and suppressed the kingdom of Gwynnes, established by the remnants of the Celts in the western mountains.
The Celts could not advance eastward, so they could only fight each other internally, so many small states such as the kingdom of Dekhbas, the kingdom of Gwent, and the kingdom of Gwenes appeared in Wales.
After a long war, they gradually formed a new identity - Welsh. At the same time, Penda, the king of Mercia, grew stronger during the war and began to conquer everywhere.
For Cirencester, Penda fought a war with King Kenegills of Wessex, and Penda easily defeated the Wessexians, after which the Saxon settlements in southeastern Gloucestershire were annexed to Mercia.
After stabilizing the Western Front, Penda set his sights on the East, where war broke out with East Anglia for control of the East Midlands. The Mercian army was strong and swept through East Anglia.
At the critical moment, the East Anglian king Sigbert had long since abdicated the throne and lived in seclusion in the monastery because of his belief in ** religion, but he returned from the monastery and led the East Anglian soldiers against the Mercian together with the then king of Egric.
Despite the Battle of the Three Kings, they were unable to withstand Penda's attack, and in the end they both died in battle, and the East Midlands fell to the Mercians.
Penda was confident in England, but he was hesitant to use troops against Edwin, the benevolent lord of Northumbria. To this end, he enlisted the Welsh to join him in the war.
In 633, Penda led a coalition of Mercia and the Welsh kingdom of Gwynids on a northern expedition to Edwin, who was killed on the battlefield by King Cadwallon of Gwynids.
Immediately after Edwin's death, Northumbria**, the union of Benicia and Deira came to an end again. Ethelfrith's son Enfrith ruled Benicia, and Edwin's cousin Osric ruled Deira.
Both kings were then slain by King Cadwallon of the Kingdom of Gwynid. Seeing that Northumbria was about to die, Oswald, known as "the most devout ** believer", stood up.
Oswald was exiled to the kingdom of Dariada in southwest Scotland, where he received his teachings. Upon his return, he used the call of the Church to unite Benicia and Deira again and expel the Welsh.
Faced with the terror of Penda, Oswald decided to look for an alliance. In 635, he persuaded King Kinegirs of Wessex to convert to the Church, and on the condition that Oswald marry Kinegills' daughter.
In order to jointly oppose Penda's hegemony, Wessex and Northumbria formally decided to form an alliance.
Faced with the alliance of the two powers, Penda decided to strike first, and he launched the Second Northern Expedition. In 642, Oswald was killed by Penda, who was revered as a saint, partly because of his contribution to the Church, and partly because Penda, who had killed him, was a pagan and he was considered a martyr.
Northumbria has a peculiarity in that once a powerful king is killed, it will revert back to a duality. Oswald's younger brother Osway succeeded to the throne of Benicia, and Oswin submitted to King Penda of Mercia and ruled the kingdom of Deira with the help of Mercia's power, and Northumbria was once again **.
How to reunite the kingdom? Oswigh took the quickest and most economical way – marriage. In order to win the recognition of the Deira nobility, Auswi married the daughter of Edwin, the former King of Deirae, thus uniting the blood of the two royal families, so that the royal descendants of Benicia finally won the right to rule Deirae.
After Osvig stabilized the situation in the country, he began to take revenge. He worked hard to recuperate, accumulated more than ten years of strength, sent troops south, and fought the final decisive battle with Penda in the Battle of Wonvoyd.
Penda has been in England for decades, but this time it may be because of his age that he was actually beheaded by Oswigh. Penda's death shocked the entire island of England, Northumbria became the new overlord, and the invincible Mercia had to bow her proud head before Oswig.
The road to the revival of Mercia still needs the guidance of a strong man. The king of England, before Alfred the Great, was the most powerful ruler. He will lead Mercia back to the glory of the Isle of Britain.